“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own
-Luke 16:10-12
In sessions with my clients, as well as while presenting at speaking engagements, I am always asked these questions: Is clutter really a faith issue? Does it really matter if I let the endless to-do lists go undone? It’s hard to believe that God really cares if I hang up my coat!
I can assure you, God is concerned! Even when it comes to the smallest of details, because He needs to see you can handle the small things before He entrusts you with greater responsibility. (My paraphrase for Luke 16:10-12).
It’s the same story time and again – clients tell me they want to have it all, but they hesitate in taking the responsibility. So many times I’ve seen my clients’ homes piled high with stuff – but the family is oblivious to the negative effects the clutter has on communication, cooperation, etc.
In every meeting I have with a client, I strive to act as God’s hands and feet, shedding His love and influence into each situation. I teach my clients that when we are responsible for the way we take care of our items, then those around us begin to follow in kind. Case in point, I was recently working with a woman whose son repeatedly neglected to straighten his own room; but when he saw how his mother and I were working together to organize the home at large, his personal habits changed as well. He had simply been waiting to see the “right thing” done, so that he could incorporate the same changes. Never ever underestimate the smallest of actions.
“Every action in our lives touches on some chord that will vibrate in eternity”
-Edwin Hubbell Chapin
We must always strive to do what is honorable and just – not only with our actions, but also with the items that God has provided in each of our lives. Where we spend our time, with whom we associate and even the purchases we make will profoundly affect our eternal rewards.
In our struggle to loosen ourselves from the entangling net of clutter, we may lose sight of an important factor: it’s not about us. Above all, Jesus demands we love Him more than anyone or anything; following Him, trusting Him and satisfied in Him. Only then will we able to receive and manage the true riches He desires to give us. Become faithful with the small things and the greater WILL be added unto you.
